


To Do What One Must

by Moxiethesimplenerd



Category: Angels and Demons AU - Fandom
Genre: And unfortunately some of it is kids dying, Basically this will clear up a whole lot about Mox's backstory and her years as Tabbris, Death does come up quite often too, Gen, Nazis are likely going to be brought up in this so be careful, Religious Themes, So again please be careful, There are mentions of WW1/WW2, There is significantly more death as it goes on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-20 17:40:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21285593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moxiethesimplenerd/pseuds/Moxiethesimplenerd
Summary: Peace may be ideal, but perhaps it is impossible.It sure feels impossible, doesn't it? No matter how many ways you may think are plausible, the truth is that, much like purity and sin, war and peace are two sides of the same coin. Without one, the other isn't itself, it is simply reality. They're like two canines chasing each other round a bush- Peace, the ever-tranquil one, wishes to finally catch the other so that they may settle down for a nap, while War, the rambunctious and chaotic force, wants nothing more than to tackle the other into the ground. As it is, the 'owner' of these two dogs- Reality, or perhaps just all sentient beings- cannot bring themselves to put either of them back into their kennels.Or at least, that's how she sees it now.
Relationships: None
Kudos: 2





	1. The Beginning of Her End

Surely there’d been some form of mistake. An error in wording, a mistranslation- maybe it was some oddly concerning form of elaborate joke! There was simply no way that it was so terrifyingly  _ real _ . 

_ And yet.... _

Tabbris shook her head a little to clear the thought. No, this was something wrong that was sure to be fixed when it was brought to the attention of the higher-ups. As she pondered though, her thoughts could not help but wander back to the wording of the letter that had appeared so suddenly before her. At first, she expected some form of assignment- perhaps, instead of meandering about, she’d be employed towards a specific human, or group.

But then words such as ‘duty’, ‘urgency’ and, worst of all,  _ ‘war’ _ had come into view, the entire world had felt like it stopped spinning, and instead had begun aimlessly hurtling through space which, of course, wasn’t true physically, as Tabbris had been sure to take a moment to assess that Earth was indeed still on it’s previous axis. 

That said, she refused to believe a word of it. Why would there be a  _ war? _ The apocalypse was still far off, and the beginnings of the separation between Heaven and Hell had already occurred. There was simply no reason- unless they had meant the tensions that were rising between the humans? But that also didn’t add up- they never followed humanity’s example, the entire point was for it to be the other way round. Yes, she’d heard some nasty stories about the man coming into power in Germany and the like, but why should that affect the more ethereal forces of the world? She’d been told nothing of any form of conflict until now, and nothing would occur so suddenly-

_ Unless they hid it. _ Her mind supplied.  _ Unless they didn’t tell any of us what actually has been happening behind closed doors. _

But that was ridiculous! Heaven had never hidden anything from the general populace of angels before!  _ Right? _

_ No, no they wouldn’t do that. Who am I to even suggest such a thing? _ She dismissed the very notion of it. Heaven was meant to be good, and moral, so they would never lie or keep secrets. 

  
  


As she flapped her wings a little to rise more, she kept her eyes upwards. While the urge to discuss this matter with an Archangel was strong, a Power was better. After all, even if this was likely a mistake, it was a rather serious one. War, for obvious reasons, was not a word meant to be slung around like some sort of plaything.

She let out a brief and nearly inaudible sigh as her feet touched the floor of the Heavens. This whole conundrum would be done and over with as soon as she spoke with a Power, and being convinced of this, she willed her emotions to settle down. (For most people this would’ve been calming their heart, but as it was, Tabbris’s heart sat still and unused within her, just like the rest of her organs.) That said, she couldn’t help but feel relieved when Ms. Harcov came into view- sure, she hadn’t been a Power for very long, but that didn’t negate her status. Besides, the Queen herself seemed to be taking some form of special interest in her, and if that didn’t go miles to show her capabilities, then Tabbris doubted that anything else could. 

Before Tabbris could do anything to catch the other angel’s attention, she was spotted and beckoned over by Ms. Harcov anyways- but any form of relief or hope was dashed the moment the Power spoke.

“Why aren’t you with the others?” She may have been a higher status, but worry and anxiety peeked through her voice- a trait that most other higher-ups wouldn’t allow to be shown. The fidgety and uneasy stance she took also spoke volumes about the current situation- sure, she had always been a little timid, but this was a step up from usual, and told Tabbris the very thing she hadn’t wanted to hear.

“It’s true, isn’t it? That there’s...” She spoke quietly, and didn’t actually wind up finishing her sentence. As it was, she didn’t have to, as Ms. Harcov simply nodded.

The reality of what this meant hit Tabbris harder than any object that could’ve been thrown at her, and she swallowed thickly in an attempt to not show the amount of turmoil and flat-out hurt that threatened to engulf her as she silently turned to leave. Sure, she wasn’t assigned to the front lines, but something about being left down on Earth to watch over the segment humans referred to as ‘Europe’ sent a spike of unease through her, as if it might be worse down there.

In hindsight, she really wishes she’d been wrong about that gut feeling, because it really  _ was _ so much worse on Earth than anything even Hell could offer.


	2. The End of Her Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A step both before and after the last memory."
> 
> Oh how she loathed her inability to forget...

The first time she saw humanity was far from joyful.

It had been in the midst of a dismal snowstorm in the colder region of North America. The wind was howling, frigid and ready to nip at any exposed skin, and the human eye couldn’t see so much as a foot in front of them. As it was, Tabbris was not limited to the vision of a human being- she could see about 5 feet ahead of her, and temperature was simply a part of reality that couldn’t touch her, no matter the extremes it existed in. Regardless, the position of being tasked to trudge through the storm was uncomfortable, and she held herself in a tight hug. 

_ Where is it? _

She knew what she was supposed to be looking for, and had been told that it wasn’t far from where she’d been instructed to land. Yet here she was, having been making her way through the icy hell for a good half hour, and were it not for the fact that patience was a virtue, she would’ve been incredibly bitter about the whole situation. However, something nearby caught her attention as she brushed some of her hair away from her eyes.

A small, oddly shaped lump of snow sat still on the ground ahead of her. This is, naturally, a normal sight in a snowstorm- except that the footprints leading up to it were undoubtedly human. 

“There you are.” She whispered as she quietly moved forward, summoning the scythe she’d been issued into her hand. Now, it was highly unlikely that she’d actually need it, but protocol was protocol. After taking a moment to kneel on the ground in front of the lump, she gently placed a hand on it before brushing away some of the snow to reveal the face of a small child- who seemed to stir awake, but unfortunately Tabbris knew better than to believe that. As they stared at her in wonder, she smiled. She’d heard other angels say many things about humanity, but in that moment, all of the details she’d been given seemed insignificant in comparison to the pure curiosity that seemed to roll off of the child in waves.

“Come, we’ve got a long way to go.” She kept her voice soft as she stood up, holding out a hand for them to grab- and trying her best to avert her eyes from the body she was having them leave behind.

As they took it, they began to turn their head, thus prompting her to gently tilt their face away with a wing, although not in time for them to avoid the sight.

“Is that… me?” Much to her surprise, they didn’t sound frightened. She supposed it was because children aren’t taught to fear death in the way adults do. Unable to think of an explanation in words, she simply nodded.

“Momma isn’t coming, is she?” This time, they sounded more sad than anything else, and so Tabbris took it upon herself to lean down and pull them into a hug as she responded, knowing full well how the loneliness of not being alive felt. She almost wanted to ask the higher-ups to find a way to send them back, to reverse their mortality- but alas, she was well aware of how impossible that was.  
  
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think she will be.”

They took a moment to digest the information before breaking away from the hug, taking her hand once more as she stood. No further words were exchanged as they left, despite how crushing the silence seemed. 

She couldn’t help but think of that first child as she hugged this one tighter to her, ignoring the screams coming from outside and hoping that her efforts would stop the little one’s sobbing.

For a moment, she’d been tempted to join them in their sorrows- but she couldn’t afford to do that. While the child would be invisible and unknowable to the soldiers outside, but unfortunately, Tabbris wasn’t a dead mortal soul, and so she wasn’t given that luxury.

She also lacked the luxury to smite all of the damned fools causing this horrific situation- and that was saying something, as she’d never been the type for violence before they’d come to exist.

As she dwelled in thought, she looked around at the house they’d taken refuge in- if one could still call it that. It lacked an entire side, and the little that was left was in shambles. In the far distance, though the obvious gaping hole, she saw _ their _ flag, and couldn’t help but feel a spike of rage.

While she originally hadn’t cared about human symbols, she’d come to hate the Swastika with a burning passion.

Rumor was it had originally been a symbol of luck, but now, it was merely a marker for mass genocide and needless cruelty. Whenever it was within view, it was a painful reminder of how many lives were being destroyed and stolen everywhere- a reminder of how the world had been abandoned by the Heavens, and Tabbris with it. 

However, there was no time to feel bitter. If she didn’t hurry to get the child where they belonged, there was little doubt in her mind that one of the spirits from the Purgatory would make an unwelcome appearance- they couldn’t take the child by force, as she had learned through making the mistake of lingering in the mortal realm for too long, but they certainly weren’t polite, and hovered like vultures until the task was done. That said, she attempted to get the child back on their feet non-verbally. Unfortunately, she’d quickly learned that this one spoke exclusively in German, and while she knew more than just English, German was not on her list. 

Speaking of German, it seemed that the soldiers just out of sight were shouting some sort of order at each other. Unfortunately, Tabbris took this as a sign that they were leaving, and thus quickly grasped the child’s hand before darting in the opposite direction- almost freezing up when she heard gunshots following them. Her wings were put away in order to not be determined as inhuman, but that didn’t matter in the long run, as she was still a target. By some _ miracle _, she managed to get out of sight.

She finally ducked behind cover- making sure the child was alright, of course- before suddenly feeling pain erupt in her midsection, thus prompting her to sink to the ground and see what caused it, assuming it’s something minor.

Unfortunately, as she sees the holes and the red stains on her attire, she notices that she did not, in fact, make it away unscathed. It takes all of her willpower to not curse under her breath, and she attempts to cover the wounds with her hands so in a useless attempt to avoid worrying the child further. 

Naturally, it was all for naught as her vision faded and her body began to fail- she internally ‘cursed’, and attempted to explain that everything would be alright, ignoring the shouting that seemed to come closer. She wasn’t afraid- this would be far from her actual end. In fact, she felt… relief. The past few visits to the mortal realm had brought nothing but pain, and a small part of her was infinitely glad that this brief moment of physical agony would postpone her next job.

  
An even smaller part hoped that maybe this _ would _ mark her end.


End file.
